1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to a system and method for implementing a QoS aware wireless point-to-multi-point transmission system.
2. Related Art
Telecommunication networks such as voice, data and video networks have conventionally been customized for the type of traffic each is to transport. For example, voice traffic is very latency sensitive but quality is less important, so voice networks are designed to transport voice traffic with limited latency. Traditional data traffic, such as, e.g., a spreadsheet, on the other hand is not latency sensitive, but error-free delivery is required. Conventional telecommunications networks use circuit switching to achieve acceptable end user quality of service (QoS). With the advent of new packet switching high bandwidth data networks, different types of traffic can be transported over a data network. Specifically, convergence of separate voice, data and video networks into a single broadband telecommunications network is enabled. To ensure end user satisfaction, a system is desired that provides QoS for various types of traffic to be transported.
Wireless networks present particular challenges over their wireline counterparts in delivering QoS. For example, wireless networks traditionally exhibit high bit error rates (BER) due to a number of reasons. Conventional wireless networks also implement circuit switched connections to provide reliable communications channels. However the use of circuit switched connections allocates bandwidth between communicating nodes whether or not traffic is constantly being transferred between the nodes. Therefore, circuit switched connections use communications bandwidth rather inefficiently.
Packet switching makes more efficient use of available bandwidth than does traditional circuit switching. Packet switching breaks up traffic into so-called xe2x80x9cpacketsxe2x80x9d which can then be transported from a source node to a destination for reassembly. Thus a particular portion of bandwidth can be shared by many sources and destinations yielding more efficient use of bandwidth.
A wireless broadband access telecommunications system is desired which can provide a QoS capability that is comparable to that delivered by wireline broadband access devices. Conventionally, one of the barriers to the deployment of wireless broadband access systems has been the absence of acceptable QoS characteristics, while at the same time delivering bandwidth sufficient to qualify as broadband. Delivery of raw bandwidth over wireless media without acceptable QoS would not benefit end users. Likewise, the delivery of a high level of QoS at the cost of sufficient bandwidth would also not benefit endusers.
Conventional efforts to provide wireless broadband access systems have not granted sufficient priority to QoS as a guiding principle in architecting the wireless systems, resulting in sub-optimal designs. With the rapid emergence of the Internet, the packet switching paradigm, and transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) as a universal data protocol, it has become clear that a new wireless system design has become necessary.
What is needed then is an IP-centric wireless broadband access system with true QoS capabilities.
The present invention is directed to a packet-centric wireless point to multi-point telecommunications system, including: a wireless base station coupled to a first data network; one or more host workstations coupled to the first data network; one or more subscriber customer premise equipment (CPE) stations in wireless communication with the wireless base station over a shared bandwidth using a packet-centric protocol; and one or more subscriber workstations coupled to each of the subscriber CPE stations over a second network; a resource allocation means optimizing end-user quality of service (QoS) and allocating shared bandwidth among the subscriber CPE stations; a means for analyzing and scheduling an internet protocol (IP) flow over the shared wireless bandwidth. The analyzing means includes a characterizing means for characterizing the IP flow.
The characterizing means can include a means for determining whether a packet is older than a threshold age. The age determining means can include a means for analyzing a time to live (TTL) packet header field for determining the age of the packet, or a means for anticipating application IP flow discards based on the age of the packet.
The characterizing means can include a means for determining a QoS requirement for the IP flow if the IP flow is a new IP flow. The characterizing means can include a means for determining a subscriber CPE identification for a subscriber CPE station associated with the IP flow if the IP flow is a new IP flow. The means for determining a QoS requirement for the new IP flow can include a means for determining QoS requirements based on at least one of: a source address, a destination address, and a UDP port number. The means for determining a QoS requirement for the new IP flow can include a means for storing and retrieving a QoS requirement for an IP flow from an IP flow QoS requirement table.
The cross-referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.